A cover for outlet boxes, and more particularly pre-wired electrical wiring system including a cover permitting installation of wall sheet material over the pre-wired outlet box, after which an opening in the wall sheet material can be made in situ to expose the outlet boxes.
In commercial construction applications, the trend is towards pre-fabrication of various systems to lower labor cost, and increase productivity, and speed up the construction process. Pre-wired electrical systems, wherein wiring, plugs and switches are pre-wired into outlet boxes, are gaining popularity. These pre-wired outlet boxes are installed in commercial structures, in particular to metal or wood studs. After the conduit and outlet boxes are installed, the studs are normally covered with wall covering materials such as drywall, fiber board, masonry board, a composite sheet material, and the like. In the application of the sheet material, installers frequently use a router with a small cutting tip to expose openings for outlets by loosely hanging the sheet material in place, punching the router through in the general vicinity of the outlet box, and then routing around the outer perimeter of the outlet box to define an opening in the sheet material. In such a way, the sheet material can be loosely installed through a few points to the studs (e.g. with screws), and then the cutouts for the outlet box can be formed in the sheet material with a router, and thereafter, the sheet material can be completely mounted.
A shortcoming of using a router is that if the outlet box is pre-wired and includes switches, electrical outlets and other devices, sometimes the router can cause damage to the switch and the wiring contained therein, thereby requiring removal of the sheet material and replacement of the pre-wired outlet box.
It is known to use plastic covers to protect switches and outlets from being painted over during painting and other wall treatment, and there are covers which are used to mark the inside surface of the sheet material during installation of the sheet material. However, there remains a need for outlet covers which are adopted to permit use of routers to cut out openings in sheet material during installation of sheet material over pre-wired outlet boxes.
The invention provides an outlet box cover having a face plate which covers an open face of an outlet box and/or a mud ring affixed thereto. Arms extend from edges of the face plate and the arms are adopted to engage the sides of the outlet box. The outlet box cover is formed of material (e.g. steel) which can not be easily penetrated or damaged by a router, thereby protecting switches, outlets, jacks and wiring contained in a pre-wired outlet box. The cover is likewise useful to cover outlet boxes that are not pre-wired as well, to prevent materials from entering the outlet box. The covers can preferably be provided to the end user also attached to the pre-wired outlet boxes, or can be installed thereafter. After the sheet material is installed, the covers can be easily removed and either discarded, re-used, or recycled. Preferably, the plurality of apertures are formed in the outlet box cover to allow the outlet cover to be easily removed (e.g., with needle-nose pliers, and the like).